We have always heard that behind every successful man is a woman. This was never more true than in the case of our First Ladies. Women who were thrust into a role most of them never expected and in many cases, were unprepared to assume. Some were more successful than others. All have stories and lessons that we can learn from today. Join me here to laugh with them - cry with them – and to see that the struggles of wives and mothers today aren’t really so different from those of ten years or two hundred years ago. And then again, maybe they are. Let’s look into the hearts and the homes of these special women. Bring them to life once again to learn from, to enjoy and love.
George Washington, who was actually a few years younger than his wife, Martha, was chastised by David Burns, a blunt Scotsman, who refused to sell Washington some land he wanted. Burns prudently told him, “What would you have been, if you hadn’t married the Widow Custis?” Yeh, where George???
How deeply did Abigail Adams’ admonition to her husband that “How could America produce heroes, statesmen and philosophers if it didn’t also produce learned women” go to influence her husband? She never doubted that women were men’s intellectual equals and she fought the battle for women’s rights long before it became the fashion to do so.
Everyone of these ladies contributed to the success or failure of her President husband. Some of their advice was heeded, some not. We saw Edith Bolling Wilson’s fierce efforts to protect her husband when he was seriously ill and the impact she had on his presidency. Eleanor Roosevelt‘s active role countered the limitations her husband’s handicap forced upon him. Jackie Kennedy’s grace and poise enhanced her husband’s impact on the influential of the world. The stories are endless and entertaining. Like Abigail Adams waiting for John to leave home on one of his lengthy political trips - at which time she enlarged the house by adding a new living room and study. She spent a considerable sum at the time, but felt she was entitled since John had spent $16,000 (a tidy sum for those days) on a new barn, which Abigail felt was totally unreasonable and unnecessary. Join me here for more of these delightful tales.
George Washington, who was actually a few years younger than his wife, Martha, was chastised by David Burns, a blunt Scotsman, who refused to sell Washington some land he wanted. Burns prudently told him, “What would you have been, if you hadn’t married the Widow Custis?” Yeh, where George???
How deeply did Abigail Adams’ admonition to her husband that “How could America produce heroes, statesmen and philosophers if it didn’t also produce learned women” go to influence her husband? She never doubted that women were men’s intellectual equals and she fought the battle for women’s rights long before it became the fashion to do so.
Everyone of these ladies contributed to the success or failure of her President husband. Some of their advice was heeded, some not. We saw Edith Bolling Wilson’s fierce efforts to protect her husband when he was seriously ill and the impact she had on his presidency. Eleanor Roosevelt‘s active role countered the limitations her husband’s handicap forced upon him. Jackie Kennedy’s grace and poise enhanced her husband’s impact on the influential of the world. The stories are endless and entertaining. Like Abigail Adams waiting for John to leave home on one of his lengthy political trips - at which time she enlarged the house by adding a new living room and study. She spent a considerable sum at the time, but felt she was entitled since John had spent $16,000 (a tidy sum for those days) on a new barn, which Abigail felt was totally unreasonable and unnecessary. Join me here for more of these delightful tales.
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